


with blood on my sleeve

by lunarcorvid



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Unconditional Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-20 17:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11925897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarcorvid/pseuds/lunarcorvid
Summary: When Reese is a few moments too late to save their number, Finch offers comfort.





	with blood on my sleeve

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first poi fic! super late, i know, but better late than never, right?
> 
> the title is from "drawn to the blood" by sufjan stevens.
> 
> enjoy!

Reese was too late.

Their number, Natasha Wiles, had been involved in a knife fight in an alley. He shot the perpetrator in the legs, immobilizing him. Reese dialed Carter's number as he rushed to the teenager's body.

Natasha was alive, but her breathing was slow and shallow, and her lips were slowly becoming cyanotic. One wound punctured her left lung. Guilt, frustration, and hurt all sunk in as he waited for the detective to pick up the phone.

"John? What's going on?"

"We were too late, Carter." Reese said, attempting to catch his breath. "Natasha's been stabbed. She's alive, but barely."

"Hang on, I'm coming over there with an ambulance." Carter said. She hung up.

Reese sighed in defeat, switching the comm back over to Finch.

"Mr. Reese, are you okay?" Finch asked.

Reese wanted to say he wasn't okay, that an innocent teenager was bleeding out on the pavement because he couldn't get there fast enough. "I'll be fine, Finch."

"John." Finch said. "After over half a year of working with you, I can tell when you're lying."

"Hang on a minute." Reese said. He looked back down at Natasha, who was staring back up at him, panicked.

"Am-- am I going to die?" The young girl asked Reese.

"Don't worry, there's an ambulance on the way, they'll take care of you." John replied.

The five minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive felt like five hours. He regretted leaving the girl on the pavement, but the paramedics were in sight, and John wanted to be sure he wouldn't get caught. Once he saw that the situation was under control, he switched on the comm again.

"Finch, I'm coming back."

\-------------

Harold stood as he heard the door unlock. Bear rushed past him to greet John, but tilted his head as he realized something was not right. Finch looked at Reese with concern. John wouldn't even look up at him, but even with his head tilted downwards, Harold could see the guilt and the pain practically written all over his face. It made the older man's chest hurt to see his his friend overcome with these feelings.

"John?"

John finally looked up at him, making eye contact with him for the first time since he walked in the door. "I'm fine."

Harold frowned. "No, you're not fine. I really do wish you would be honest with me in times like this."

"Harold, I just saw a young girl get stabbed in an alleyway because I wasn't fast enough." John said, looking down at the ground. "She had friends, a family, people who cared about her, and now they'll have to mourn an innocent girl who never got the chance to live her life."

"We don't even know if she died. I took the liberty of telling Carter to keep us updated on her condition." Harold protested. He approached John until they were within two feet of each other.

John sighed. "Harold--"

"Hear me out, John." Harold began. "In the time we've been working together, I have never seen you do anything less than your best to protect others. That's all I can ask of you. There will always be numbers we can't save, times where one or both of us is seconds too slow. We both did all we could, and she was still attacked. This isn't your fault."

John opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He wasn't even sure what he would say if he had the ability to speak right now. Instead, he bowed his head and tried to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from his eye. Harold gently rested a hand on his arm.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." Finch said gently.

Minutes later, John was sitting in a chair with his shirt off. Harold was sitting next to him, tending his wounds by lightly pressing a wet washcloth to the gashes and scrapes on his body, cleaning the blood and grime away. John winced at the contact, feeling the way the fibers stung against the open wounds. Harold quietly shushed him, pressing soft kisses against his skin in an effort to soothe him. John closed his eyes at the feel of Harold's soft lips. Eventually, he coaxed Harold back up to press a kiss to his lips.

It didn't go any further than kissing that night. The contact was a comfort to both of them, but it was bittersweet after the events of the night. Soon, Harold had finished with the cleaning and the bandaging. John sighed in relief as Harold wrapped the last piece of gauze around a gash on his arm.

"Does it hurt?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, but not nearly as much as before." John answered. "Thank you."

Harold offered a small smile. "I'm always happy to aid you, John."

John stood from his chair to button his shirt. Bear walked up beside him, panting happily. John gave the dog a tired smile and scratched him behind the ear. "It's been a long night." John said.

"Indeed. We should get some sleep." Harold agreed.

They went to the bedroom they had in the back and laid down, John curling up behind Harold and draping an arm over his stomach. Before they drifted off, Harold turned to the best of his ability towards John and smiled. "I love you, no matter what happens."

John cracked an eye open and smiled drowsily. "I love you too, Harold."

Harold felt a warmth bloom in his chest as his eyes fell shut.

\-----------

The next morning was work as usual. Finch was sitting at his computer, senscha green tea in his hand. John was still resting. After he incident with their number, Harold figured he needed it.

His phone began ringing. Harold picked up right away as soon as he saw the number. "Good morning, Detective Carter. Any news concerning Miss Wiles?"

"Yeah. She made it through the night, and now that she has doctors and nurses taking care of her, she's expected to make a full recovery within a few weeks." Detective Carter said. "How's John? He sounded kind of shaken up when he called me last night."

As if on cue, John emerged from behind a shelf. Harold smiled. "He's better now. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear the news. Thank you for the update, Detective." He hung up and turned to John, who had been listening to the conversation from the doorway. "Carter?" John asked.

"Yes," Harold confirmed. "She called to tell us that Natasha's going to be just fine."

John sighed, his whole body relaxing a bit. Harold shares the feeling, findinng comfort in knowing that they still were able to save someone.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you liked it! feedback is always appreciated :)


End file.
